Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Family Group:

The rare Afghanistan Order of the Dooranee Empire badge attributed to Colonel W. Croker, C.B., 17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot, who commanded the Regiment at the Storming and Capture of the Fortress of Ghuznee on 23 July 1839
Afghanistan, Order of the Dooranee Empire 1839, Third Class breast badge, with Swords, of Afghan manufacture, 53mm, gold and enamel, the central enamelled Persian inscription encircled by 16 small pearls, the reverse backplate plain, fitted with a gold straight bar suspension and contemporary top gold brooch bar, good very fine and rare

Three: Captain E. Croker, 17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot, who was present at the Storming and Capture of the Fortress of Ghuznee on 23 July 1839, and later served in the Crimea
Ghuznee 1839 (Edward Croker, Ensign 17th. Regiment.) contemporarily engraved naming in upright serif capitals to edge, with top silver brooch bar; Ghuznee 1839, a contemporary good quality tailor’s copy of the so-called ‘Tall Tower’ variety and similar to other examples named to officers of this regiment, the reverse field engraved in small capitals ‘Ensn. Edw. Croker 17th. Regiment.’, with silver ball and gold split ring and straight bar suspension, with contemporary top gold brooch bar; Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol (Edward Croker, Captn. 17th. Regt.) Hunt & Roskell engraved naming, with Hunt & Roskell top silver riband buckle; minor contact marks, generally good very fine and better, the last rare (4) £5,000-£7,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals to the Croker and Ekin Families.

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William Croker was born in Co. Limerick, Ireland, in March 1788 and was commissioned Ensign in the 17th Regiment of Foot on 27 March 1803, being promoted Lieutenant on 2 June 1804, and Captain on 20 November 1806. He served in the East Indies from 1804 to 1824, and was present during the Siege of Gurnowri in 1807; the campaign against the Sikhs of 1808-09; in the Nepaul campaign of 1814-15; and in the Mahrattas and Pindarrees campaign of 1817-18. For his services in the Nepaul campaign, Croker was Mentioned in Major-General J. S. Wood’s Despatch: ‘His Majesty’s 17th Regiment of Foot led the column, headed by its gallant commander, Colonel Hardyman, and supported by the grenadiers of the 2nd battalion of the 17th and 14th regiments of Native Infantry, and advanced upon the works; while the grenadiers and one battalion company of His Majesty’s 17th Regiment of Foot succeeded in gaining the hill on the right of the redoubt. This party was led by a brave and cool officer, Captain William Croker, who drove the enemy up the hill, killing a chief, Sooraj Tappah’ (Historical Record of the Seventeenth or The Leicestershire Regiment of Foot, by Richard Cannon, refers).

Promoted Brevet Major on 12 August 1819, Croker was confirmed in that rank on 16 June 1825, and served as Assistant Adjutant General to HM Forces in India from 1818 to 1824. After a period of home service from 1826, in 1831 Croker was posted to Australia, where he served as Commandant of Bathurst, New South Wales. Promoted Lieutenant-Colonel on 1 April 1836, he arrived back in Bombay in command of the 17th Regiment of Foot in May 1836, and commanded the Regiment during the Afghan and Beloochistan campaign, including the storming and capture of the fortresses of Ghuznee on 23 July 1839. The Regimental History gives the following account of the role played by Croker: ‘Before daylight on the morning of the 23rd of July, one of the principal gates was destroyed by an explosion of gunpowder; and the British troops rushed in at the opening and captured the strong fortress of Ghuznee by storm. The 17th Regiment of Foot, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Croker, had the honour to take a conspicuous share in the capture of this fortress: it led the assault of the citadel, which was captured with little loss, and at five o'clock in the morning its colours were waving triumphantly on the fortress. The loss of the regiment was limited to one private killed and six men wounded.’

Croker further led the Regiment at the storming and capture of Khelat on 13 November 1839, where he was personally attacked by tribesmen who were fought off. For their services in Afghanistan, the 17th Regiment of Foot received the Battle Honours ‘Afghanistan’, ‘Ghuznee’, and ‘Khelat’, and Croker was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath (London Gazette 20 December 1839). He is also recorded in the Regimental History as being awarded the Order of the Dooranee Empire.

Following the conclusion of hostilities in 1840, the 17th Regiment of Foot were ordered back to Bombay, and their troopship, The Hannah, was wrecked on a sand-bank off the mouth of the Indus on 17 March 1840, but was evacuated in good order, and not a single man nor horse was lost. After a period spent commanding the Troops at Aden, Croker was promoted Colonel on 9 November 1846, and returned home the following year, resigning by sale of his commission on 5 November 1847.

William Croker married Elizabeth Stokes in Calcutta on 14 July 1819; together they had four sons and two daughters, including Captain Edward Croker, 17th Regiment of Foot. William Croker died in Cheltenham on 11 August 1852, and is buried in St. Peter’s Churchyard, Leckhampton, Cheltenham. Under the statutes in force at the time, his insignia of the Order of the Bath would have been returnable upon his death.

Edward Croker, the eldest son of Lieutenant-Colonel William Croker, was born in Calcutta on 25 April 1820 and was commissioned Ensign in the 17th Regiment of Foot, by purchase, on 27 October 1837. He served with the Regiment in Afghanistan and Beloochistan, and was present at the storming and capture of the fortress of Ghuznee on 23 July 1839, and the storm and capture of Khelat on 13 November 1839. He was promoted Lieutenant on 21 October 1839, and subsequently served as Adjutant. Promoted Captain on 10 March 1848, he saw further service in the Crimea, including the first assault on the Grand Redan at Sebastopol on 18 June 1855. He resigned by sale of his commission that same year.

Edward Croker married Catherine Keily in Cheltenham on 14 November 1850, and they had two sons and three daughters together, including Sir Henry Leycester Croker, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (as the 17th Foot had become) during the initial stages of the Great War. Edward Croker died in Cheltenham on 19 January 1892, and is buried in St. Peter’s Churchyard, Leckhampton, Cheltenham.

William Croker’s nephew (and therefore Edward Croker’s cousin), John Lacy Croker, also served in the 17th Regiment of Foot, having been commissioned Ensign on 18 March 183, and promoted Lieutenant on 5 June 1839. He too served with distinction at the storming and capture of the fortress of Ghuznee on 23 July 1839, and it was he who placed the first British Standard (the Regimental Colour of the 17th Foot) on the Citadel of Ghuznee. He was killed in action in the Crimea during the first assault on the Grand Redan on 18 June 1855, the only Officer of the Regiment to be killed, and was buried on Cathcart’s Hill.

Sold with a watercolour portrait of William Croker.